Artiface of Strength Ch. 04

"Ah, here it is," she said, pausing before pulling the dress from the back of the closet where she had hidden it. "Here, try this on."

Florence would have instantly rejected the short dress a couple of hours earlier, but now there was a deadline, so she reluctantly put it on. It wasn't really her kind of thing, for one thing, it was satin, and for another, it was short. It left both shoulders bare, and hung just a hand's breath above her knees. Florence would have described the dress as being a rich tomato red, but that wasn't exactly true either. It was made of one of those shimmery fabrics that seemed to catch and redirect light, making it appear to be several different shades at once. Flo had no idea what the stuff was called and she wasn't about to ask, she just knew that it seemed to change colors as she moved.

She looked at herself in Beth's full length mirror and began to panic; there was no way she could pull this dress off. "Perfect," said Beth before Florence could say anything. "Ooh, I've got the perfect shoes for it too. I know they are in here someplace," she said, making a direct line for where she had put the box earlier. "Here they are," Put these on, she demanded, "they'll be perfect with that!"

Knocked off stride before she could even begin to complain about the dress, Florence took the shoes, and with some resignation, strapped them on. Beth had been right, they were the exact shade as the dress; they ought to be, she had bought them at the same time.

The shoes had straps that ran diagonally across the top of each foot, and wrapped tightly around the heel. With a relatively short heel, Florence thought that maybe could manage them if she had to. She was surprised that the shoes fit so well as Beth's feet were an entire size smaller than hers, and she had started to ask about this when she was interrupted again.

"Oh dear, I'd forgotten that those were open-toed shoes. Come here, we're gonna have to paint your nails. Take everything off and head over to my vanity so we can doll you up. Hurry now, we're running out of time."

Feeling like a buffalo heading to the cliff on a buffalo run, Florence stopped protesting and just accepted the inevitable. She let herself be led to slaughter at Beth's jam-packed vanity table.

"I think I might have the perfect shade... hmm, I haven't worn it in awhile. Where did I put it," Beth rambled, while aimlessly opening drawers for a bit before she opened the bottom drawer, and pulled out the bottle she had placed there earlier. "Here it is! This should be just the perfect shade too! Sit down and stick your right foot out; we'll do that one first."

Florence meekly did as she was told and continued to let herself be dressed for her execution. Beth, all the while, chattering gaily, not giving Florence a chance to voice any reservations.

About an hour later, Beth pronounced Florence finished. She had done both Flo's fingers and toes; completely brushed her hair out until it shone; then put some odd contraption that Florence didn't understand into her hair to keep it in place, and finally applying a light dusting of cosmetics topped off with lipstick of exactly the same shade as the dress. "Here," said Beth, "put this in your purse for touch ups later."

"Purse?" said Florence. Why on Earth would I own a purse?"

"Oh right, I almost forgot," mumbled Beth distractedly. "A purse... I think I have one that shade. A moment later, Beth magically pulled a small clutch out of one of her closets; it too, was the exact same shade or red. "Close enough," said Beth. "Now get dressed; it is almost time to leave."

"What? Already," Florence gasped. She then looked up at the clock and saw reality staring back at her, she was out of time. Where had the day gone? Florence reached for her panties only to have Beth slap her hand.

"Not a chance Flo, I have not spent all afternoon cleaning you up only to have you wreck my work with panty lines. Put that dress on! Chop chop! You're going to be late!"

Florence considered staring Beth down, but she knew that she was in too deep now. All she could do was thank the Goddess that William wasn't a wolf, because any wolf would smell her coming. She didn't share this revelation with Beth; her laughter would only have made it worse. So she put the dress on...sans underwear, and then mumbled, "What's next, a fucking pumpkin carriage pulled by mice?"

"No Flo, I gotta go to the Roadhouse tonight, I'll drop you off!"

"And just why won't my fairy godmother allow me to drive myself to town?"

"Because she knows you all too well, you'd kick those shoes off to drive, and if you get those feet dirty or chip those nails, your godmother is going to become very, very angry. You would not like me if I got angry. Do you hear me, Cinderella?"

"Yes godmother, but what am I supposed to put in this stupid purse besides lipstick?"

"Will you need anything else tonight? He's paying for dinner, so you won't need money. You won't need keys or tampons or anything tonight. You aren't human, so you don't need condoms. You won't catch anything. Do you chew gum?"

"So I'm carrying this fucking purse just so I have a place to put my lipstick?"

"Pretty much."

"Being a girl sucks, fairy godmother."

"Only if he's good to you, Cindy; only if he's good to you," Beth said with a wink. "Now c'mon, it's time for you to go man huntin'." Florence just rolled her eyes and followed Beth out to her car.

As they drove down to the Town of Whiskey Lake, Beth peppered Florence with ribald stories involving her two hundred plus years of dating. She described everything from her most horrible disaster to her most erotic tryst. Beth kept to her plan of non-stop chattering in order to calm Flo and keep her from dwelling on her upcoming meeting with William. Beth had Florence laughing before they'd even left the compound, and she continued to keep Flo off-balance until she pulled into the Hotel car park and shooed her out of the car with a, "Go make your God-mother proud. I want you to screw his legs off, and make sure that I don't see you until sometime tomorrow." And with that, she stepped on the accelerator and roared off to the Roadhouse.

Realizing that it was show time, Florence pulled her hem down nervously, almost causing her breasts to spill out the top of the dress. Damn, being a girl is hard. If I tug the bottom down, I'll pop out of the top. So I've got to move really slowly, and there will be no bending over to pick anything up, because that bitch wouldn't let me wear any underwear." Then she said aloud, "I will kill her, I will kill her. I will kill her!

"Who will you kill," said a voice from the lobby entrance.

She couldn't believe it; she'd let her nervous frustration get the best of her. She'd actually let a human get a drop on her. True, he'd just come into view after opening the door, but still...a human! Umm a sexy human with corded muscles and jet black hair, and oh Goddess...what was that smell? It was like every sexual fantasy that she'd ever imagined, all rolled into one delicious body. She scented him finally, his aroma washing over her. Her eyes fought to not roll back in her head and she felt her thighs becoming wet with her naked arousal. All she could think was, "mine." Words were not her friends right then.

William was absolutely floored by what stood before him. This wet-dream vision had run him into the ground? She was dressed for sin in a red satin dress that barely covered anything; he'd never seen anything that affected him like this before. He was grabbed by something on a primal level and he felt himself growing hard. He had to have this vision; but more importantly, he would have to say something soon.

He knew that he'd been standing there with his mouth open, and he also knew that he really needed to communicate, but all he could think to say was, "I found unscented detergent. I have your clothes in my rental car." He felt like an idiot before this perfect woman; he had no clue that her head was as cloudy as his own. Surely this vision must be used to being worshipped. He wasn't worthy of her, so he stammered, "I didn't wear any cologne; I thought that maybe you were allergic to perfumes. You always seem to be scenting things."

That's his normal smell? Oh Goddess, I'm in so much trouble! You stopped giving humans to us hundreds of years ago. Why now? Why me? He shouldn't be my mate; I might have to kill him!

Realizing that she hadn't said anything out loud yet, William started babbling again, "My car, it's over in the car park. It's nothing special, just a fleet Chevy. Are you ready to go? My personal car is much nicer. I have a truck. It has four-wheel drive; I think you'd like it."

Snapping back to reality, Florence realized that William was babbling, and she was reassured. He was obviously as affected by the pull of the mating bond as she, but as a human, he clearly had no idea what was happening to his brain, his heart, and his mouth. She smiled seductively at him and suggested that he lead the way. She was in control; maybe she'd live through this.

She reached out for his hand, and when he touched her, there was no spark this time. No shock, but there was the same growing warmth that originated from inside of each of them. She staggered for a moment; she knew that she was soaking wet and hoped that this dress wouldn't soak through or stain. Maybe she could get her hands on those panties that he's laundered for her.

He led her to his rental car and they began the forty five minute drive to the resort. Her scent filled the cabin of the car. Any wolf would have pulled to the side of the road and buried himself within her inside of the first hundred meters. He was human though, and only had a vague subconscious reaction to the pheromones she was pouring out. She was grateful for this fact for the moment. Her mind was spinning with all of the possibilities and this gave her time to think. What do I do now? I can't tell him that he's my mate. He'd think I was insane; he has absolutely no idea that we Were are real.

William, thinking that Florence's silence was due to the fact that she was calm and collected, once again believed that she was running him in circles. Here I am a combat veteran of two different wars; I'm thirty two years old and I feel like a sophomore on my first date. God I want this woman! Why on Earth had she deigned to go on a date with me? Oh Lord, I almost forgot her pussy is shaved too; I'm in so far over my head here! She said if I'm lucky, I might get one kiss, and I've never wanted one kiss so much in my entire life. She didn't say how long it would last, maybe it's a loophole.

Seeing confusion written large on William's face, Florence began to relax. Maybe Beth is right; maybe men are easy! She could see that he was clearly at least as nervous as she'd been, but he had it even worse than she had; he was the man here, and convention dictated that he was responsible for carrying the conversation. Flo smiled softly to herself and decided that she'd remain quiet to keep him nervous.

It worked. William squirmed the entire time that it took to drive around to the back side of the lake where the resort was located, up the mountain side where its patrons could look out over the lake. Forty five minutes of sheer Hell for him, and it got even worse when she reached over the back seat and reclaimed her panties, saying, "I might need these later."

He couldn't take his eyes off of the twisty mountain road for a moment to be sure, but if she might need them later... Oh Lord, she isn't wearing anything under that short dress.

They arrived at the Resort where Florence took Beth's advice, casually waiting in her seat until William thought to open the door for her. She was careful to allow her dress to ride up just far enough to give him a brief flash of the fact that, yes; she really might need those panties. As the valet drove their car away, William walked Florence into the restaurant somewhat stiff-leggedly, still wondering whether God was rewarding...or punishing him for something.

He calmed down after a few appetizers and a wonderful dinner. The food really was quite wonderful here, but as far as William was concerned, it might well have been bread and water, he hadn't tasted any of it, he was still wrapped in her fragrance and had no clue what he'd eaten. Her eyes, why do they do that?

Florence was a wolf. She ordered the thickest steak they had, and she savored every bite. She may have enjoyed it almost as much as the stupid look on her date's face. She was content to let him do most of the talking, allowing him to tell her the story of growing up in the Pacific Coast area with his grandfather. She was astounded hear that many of his grandfather's beliefs coincided closely with those of the pack. It seemed as if every time she'd pressed him for more details, his and their stories were the same. She had known that the beliefs of the People, and of the Were were similar, but she'd never realized how much until now.

All too soon, dinner was over and Florence was amazed to hear herself ask if maybe the two of them hadn't had too much to drink and should look into getting a room here, rather than to chance the drive home, and as she had been running her foot up the inside of his lag for the last few minutes, William quickly agreed. He tried to hide his enthusiasm as he paid their bill and the two were soon headed over to the registration desk.

It was Monday night; there were plenty of vacancies here, the price would probably even be pretty reasonable too, not that either of them really cared by this point. William's hand was now around Florence's waist as he slowly caressed her back, trailing his fingers up and down her spine. Florence was going insane from his gentle teasing and wished that he'd just pull the satin aside and run his fingers up her skin. She calmed herself by toying with his hair while they waited in line.

There was only one family ahead of them, a mother with two small children. Florence wasn't really in a hurry, she had all night. If she showed up for work at all tomorrow, Beth would be disappointed. Things were going so well...and then the blonde woman turned around and said, "Will?"

"Liz," he gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"Daddy," the two children exploded. "Mama said we wouldn't get to see you until tomorrow!"

"Daddy?" Florence said dangerously.

"Umm, Florence, these are my children, Sarah and Noah," as the two children ran forward to grab their father's legs, almost knocking Florence aside in their haste.

"And this is..."

"His wife Elizabeth," the woman broke in. We were going to surprise him by coming down to that desolate Hell hole that he's staying in tomorrow. Father told me that you weren't staying here in the Resort."

"Your wife," Florence spat. "Well, I don't want to break up your reunion; I'll be on my way now. Let Mr. Waters know that the answer is still, no."

"You know Daddy?" Elizabeth asked, surprised.

"Daddy?" Florence said, fighting the urge to shift and tear the woman into bloody pieces, right here in front of her children

"Yes, Burton Waters, everybody knows Daddy; he's a powerful man!"

Her eyes now sparkling with hatred, Florence looked into William's eyes, managing to hold herself back only because of the presence of the young children that were attached to him, and said, "It's been nice Will; we won't be seeing each other again". She then spun on her heel and quickly fled out the back door, ignoring his calls for her to stop. She sped out the door and into the surrounding forest, her wonderful dress exploding into ribbons as she shifted and began to run, hoping to run away the ache she was feeling.

"Daddy," Sarah asked, "was that a wolf howling? It sounds likes it's in pain."